Coach Pay

[Volxtile]

4 minutes ago, theguru said:

Generally speaking I think a lot schools have far too many administrators, class principals, assistant principals, directors of whatever, etcetera if money is the issue.  This would include middle school and elementary school too on all the six figure jobs, most of which are much less work (and less important in my opinion) than a high school head football coach.  

I could see starting at a minimum of 20K for a head football coach and then increasing it 2K per year.  Of course I am throwing numbers out off the top of my head. 

I think the whole “Director” or “Vice President” thing can be said for a lot of jobs.  Vice President assistant director of X.  Obviously a dramatization but I very much agree, coaching is hard in any sport, then you add in being a head coach of a football team which is one of the biggest if not the biggest sport in KY Highschool, that’s a lot of pressure and work.

[Hearsay]

5 minutes ago, theguru said:

Generally speaking I think a lot schools have far too many administrators, class principals, assistant principals, directors of whatever, etcetera if money is the issue.  This would include middle school and elementary school too on all the six figure jobs, most of which are much less work (and less important in my opinion) than a high school head football coach.  

I could see starting at a minimum of 20K for a head football coach and then increasing it 2K per year.  Of course I am throwing numbers out off the top of my head. 

Using the JCPS chart above, the top pay (I'm assuming stipend) for a head high school football coach is $7,930.  let's say that you are ONLY talking about from when the dead period is over to around mid-November, when most teams have been eliminated.  That is 4 months.  that's $1,980 per month.  Divided by 4.2 that is $470 per week.  Now let's say this head football coach is doing the BARE MINIMUM, which is to say 3 hours of prep and practice per day, a 5 hour day on Friday, and maybe 10-15 other hours per week watching film, coaches meetings, organizing buses, making schedules, dealing with parents and trainers, player discipline, grade, and other issues, etc., we will say 30 hours per week.  We all know that its likely double that, but just call it 30.  that's $15.67 per hour.  The Bardstown McDonald's is currently paying $15 per hour with a $500 sign-on bonus if you commit to staying 2 months.  So, basically what we are saying is that Chris Wolfe, the head football coach at Male who just competed for a state championship, is valued the same as a short order chef at McDonald's (less when you include the McSign-On Bonus).  And, of course, we know that being a head high school football coach is more than just 4 months out of the year.

[rjs4470]

29 minutes ago, theguru said:

Generally speaking I think a lot schools have far too many administrators, class principals, assistant principals, directors of whatever, etcetera if money is the issue.  This would include middle school and elementary school too on all the six figure jobs, most of which are much less work (and less important in my opinion) than a high school head football coach.  

I could see starting at a minimum of 20K for a head football coach and then increasing it 2K per year.  Of course I am throwing numbers out off the top of my head. 

Most of the principals I know work pretty hard, have a ton of garbage they have to put up with from both parents and central office. I don't believe they are overpaid, and many of the ones I know are overworked too. I would say there's probably some fat that can be trimmed from Central Office, but I can't point to any specific positions. That being said, I do believe head coaches are underpaid, and most are dealing with unrealistic expectations and have to put up with tons of garbage on their end too. However it's really hard to justify paying a coach big bucks when there are so many other issues in schools that also require money to be thrown their way. I don't think it's unreasonable though for a head coach who also teaches to at least be approaching 6 figures in annual combined salary. 

Edited December 6, 2022 by theguru

[9068]

1 hour ago, theguru said:

What should a head football coach be paid?

From what I have seen in the past high administrators making six figures are a dime a dozen and with that in mind I believe high school football coaches that also teach (or whatever they do fulltime) should also being making six figures too.

Depends on rank, experience, school day responsibility, extended employment etc. So many folks think football coaches should be paid a ton of money just to coach football. Doesn't happen in too many places in KY. Tell you what....work a year as an assistant principal or principal in a school and tell us how easy it is. Those dime a dozen folks all have at least 30 hours beyond a Masters (Rank 1) and have completed their administrative certificate and practicum. Lots of long days and nights. Trust me, they earn their salary. A school can operate without a football coach.....but not without a principal. Football is an extra curricular correct?

[barrel]

I don’t think anyone is in favor of cutting principals. Now I think most feel like central office positions in many districts are bloated. 

[LongTimeReader]

As an assistant football coach in the Tampa Bay area I make roughly $1800 before taxes. That amount is broken into two stipends, I get 70% of it in the Fall and 30% at the end of our spring practice period. 

[9068]

7 minutes ago, barrel said:

I don’t think anyone is in favor of cutting principals. Now I think most feel like central office positions in many districts are bloated. 

Maybe in bigger districts, but in many small to mid sized districts those folks often wear several hats.

[zoneblitz24]

20 minutes ago, 9068 said:

Depends on rank, experience, school day responsibility, extended employment etc. So many folks think football coaches should be paid a ton of money just to coach football. Doesn't happen in too many places in KY. Tell you what....work a year as an assistant principal or principal in a school and tell us how easy it is. Those dime a dozen folks all have at least 30 hours beyond a Masters (Rank 1) and have completed their administrative certificate and practicum. Lots of long days and nights. Trust me, they earn their salary. A school can operate without a football coach.....but not without a principal. Football is an extra curricular correct?

Those Admin are paid with a stipend and extended days so they are compensated for working extra hours with a stipend and for working days in the summer time.  There are plenty of coaches who have earned Rank 2 and Rank 1 changes that are certified to become admin but they love to coach sports.  This also rings true why you see a lot of coaches get out of coaching to move to admin because your working the same amount of time if not more and making less money.  I believe a head coach should be paid no less than $10,000 stipend and the bottom assistant should make no less than $3,000 to $4,000.  Head coaches and assistants should all be given extended days as well for their work in the summer.  Now if a school district wants to do it correctly to keep all sports coaches from being burned out they should have in school weight programs with a full time strength and conditioning coach to work the players out.  Make sure the head coach and a few assistants have planning period during that in school weight class.  

[9068]

24 minutes ago, zoneblitz24 said:

Those Admin are paid with a stipend and extended days so they are compensated for working extra hours with a stipend and for working days in the summer time.  There are plenty of coaches who have earned Rank 2 and Rank 1 changes that are certified to become admin but they love to coach sports.  This also rings true why you see a lot of coaches get out of coaching to move to admin because your working the same amount of time if not more and making less money.  I believe a head coach should be paid no less than $10,000 stipend and the bottom assistant should make no less than $3,000 to $4,000.  Head coaches and assistants should all be given extended days as well for their work in the summer.  Now if a school district wants to do it correctly to keep all sports coaches from being burned out they should have in school weight programs with a full time strength and conditioning coach to work the players out.  Make sure the head coach and a few assistants have planning period during that in school weight class.  

Great idea......but funding, academic requirements, etc often times keep that from happening. Also, that strength coach has to be available to ALL teams, male and female correct??

[zoneblitz24]

8 minutes ago, 9068 said:

Great idea......but funding, academic requirements, etc often times keep that from happening. Also, that strength coach has to be available to ALL teams, male and female correct??

Yes the strength coach would just be a PE teacher for the school district so they can receive a good salary and honestly give them a stipend as well for the athletes who are not able to be in the in school weights class to get there lifts in either before or after school.  I agree that not all school districts have the resources to make this happen but there are ways to move things around to support athletics if your administration is truly supporting athletics.  More school districts need to understand that all extra curricular sports do is bring in additional enrollment for the district.  The places that truly invest in ALL Extracurriculars are always at the top and generally have excellent school cultures.

[tomcat1984]

Ik at Ashland in the early 2000’s when my brother was still an assistant coach they got 6% of their salary from teaching but if you was a paid assistant that didn’t teach it was 6% of a first year teacher. I think even the HC was 6% from my understanding. They got their pay spread out over the school year if I remember correctly. Now the booster club may have slid some money to the HC but even Dicky Martian would never say if they did or not. My brother always complained by the time you averaged out the hours they put verses pay it was less than half of minimum wage so you had to love coaching young men to put in the time required and for that I have the upmost respect for all coaches at the high school level. 

[theguru]

For more on this subject:

[Ram]

It's easy to say, "I don't coach for the money", but an unpopular thought may be, "most people have two things that are worth money:  their time and their knowledge".  

Some may say a school is in the business of "education" and not "athletics".  I am of the opinion that the football field, the baseball field, the basketball court, ect are, in fact, classrooms just as much at the science lab, the math classroom and the history classroom.  Just as much as the industrial arts class, the performing arts stage and the choir room.  Anyone that played sports, or participated in any other extracurricular activity would probably agree.

Coaches, and those that teach other extracurricular activities, are basically working two jobs and should be paid as such.  Most teachers go home at 3pm, 4pm or 5pm, coaches, and those that teach other activities, are at the school early, late and work on their second job at home to the late hours of the night and get up the next day and do it all over again.  And, they should be paid to reflect that commitment.  

Those sports bring in a lot of money that allow for the school to focus their general fund on other subjects.  How many schools would have trouble living up to Title 9 without football and basketball?  I would say a lot.  And for most, it is just a matter of football allowing them to abide with Title 9.  For most schools football brings in more money than all the other sports, boys and girls, combined.  

A "stipend" is not only an insult to the coaching staff, but to the entire school district.  Think for a minute what a school like Ohio State would be like without their football program and the money it brings in to the school.  

[Voice of Reason]

On 12/6/2022 at 2:57 PM, LongTimeReader said:

As an assistant football coach in the Tampa Bay area I make roughly $1800 before taxes. That amount is broken into two stipends, I get 70% of it in the Fall and 30% at the end of our spring practice period. 

Sounds about the same as KY. A few years ago my son was an assistant coach at one of the largest high schools in KY and made $1,200.

[Old General]

On 12/6/2022 at 1:42 PM, barrel said:

I’m sure a lot of HC would like to make more money. I’ll tell you what they want more than that six figures. Admin/district support and the setup some of the top programs have. Things like athletic periods and facilities. 

I’ve seen this first hand. My grandson has played on a state championship team and on a 6A bottom feeder that went 2-9 last year (0-11 this season), so I’ve seen both extremes. The administration support is night and day. I can see why they have such a hard time finding coaches at the 2-9 school, they get no support whatsoever. Last year they wouldn’t even pay for buses for away games. Other schools were showing up in Gold Shield buses and they had to rally parents for transportation. Plus the booster club was an absolute joke and terribly run. It really does start at the top.